ERG jumped out to a 4-1 lead in Saturday’s Joe Barry Memorial Cup action against Valiente and then nearly gave the game away as the teams engaged in a see-saw battle in fast-paced action at the International Polo Club.
Valiente climbed back into the game as it picked up five goals in the next two chukkers to tie it up at 6-6 after the first half of play.
Valiente’s Jeff Hall scored four of Valiente’s first half goals while ERG’s Argentine 9-goaler, Paco De Narvaez, and 5-goaler Santi Torres accounted for three goals apiece in the early deadlock.
Valiente took its only lead of the game in the fourth chukker, getting single goals from Hall and Nacho Astrada while holding ERG to a single penalty goal from De Narvaez.
The ERG attack got on track again in the fifth with Freddie scoring his first goal of the contest while De Narvaez added two more goals to his total, moving ERG ahead once again, 10-9.
Hall tied it up one last time in the sixth with a penalty conversion before De Narvaez sealed it up for ERG with a goal from the field followed by a penalty goal with less than 30 seconds to play.
De Narvaez led all scoring with eight goals. Torres scored three times and Mannix added a oal in the win.
Despite playing with a sore throat and temperature, 8-goaler Hall scored seven times. Astrada added two goals and Armstrong added a goal for Valiente.
The win gives ERG a 1-2 record while Valiente falls to 1-2.
Action will continue in the 2011 Joe Barry Memorial Cup competition on Sunday, January 16 with three matches. A 10 am, Mt. Brilliant (2-0) will play Lucchese (2-0); at noon Zacara (0-2) will face Patagones (0-2); with Bendabout (2-0) playing Faraway (1-1) at 3 pm in the stadium.
Equestrian Idol “All Stars” Musical Cabaret
Annual Polo Ball at Nespresso Grande Pavilion
